Blames aunt, NGO & police for pressuring her to file charges
PANAJI
A teenager, who initially accused her father of repeatedly raping her and recording the offense on his phone, has taken a surprising turn. In her submission to the Fast Track Special Court (POCSO), which is holding the trial in the two-and-half-year-old case, the victim has blamed her aunt, police and an NGO for pressurising her to level charges on the man.
Despite the submission and the survivor not opposing the bail application filed by the accused father, the Court opted to reject the bail, deeming the case as both serious and heinous in nature.
“The record shows that during the examination in chief the victim, especially while identifying the accused, had started crying loudly and submitted to the court that she wanted to meet the accused. As such, there is every possibility that the accused will interfere with the victim and threaten material witnesses, that is, the maternal aunt and other witnesses. The offences committed by the accused are serious and heinous in nature and against the society at large,” stated the order by Presiding Officer (POSCO) Durga Madkaikar.
In her statement to the Court submitted through her advocate, the victim claimed she has no objection to granting the bail application stating that whatever she has stated in the examination in chief is false and was under the pressure of her aunt, police and the NGO.
The survivor also said that she does not wish to depose anything in the future.
Her aunt is among 29 witnesses, who are yet to be examined by the Court. The special public prosecutor, during the hearing of the bail plea, had urged the Court to reject the bail as the accused raped his daughter, then a minor, ‘on many occasions and also recorded obscene videos of the sexual act between himself and the victim on his mobile and threatened by showing the knife to the victim girl many times to the victim girl not to disclose about the same to her mother or any other family member.’
The Court, while accepting the State’s arguments, rejected the accused father’s bail plea.
